You may have a designer car, designer clothes and designer shoes, but do you have a designer life? That’s what yoga is about. Read on to find out how. This article is in part an excerpt from Sadhguru’s talk at the “Make in India” Design Forum, held in Mumbai on February 17.

Sadhguru: When we talk about design, there is no better design than the cosmos. It is not just audacious, it is quite insane. At the same time, the fundamental is quite simple. Scientists talk about Constructal Theory, according to which, the fundamental aspects of design are the same – whether it is an atom, a leaf, the solar system or the universe. It is only multiplying manifold in sophistication and complexity. So, if you understand the design and making of one unit of creation, you have an inference point to grasp the entire design of the universe.

The most phenomenal engineer is within you. It is from this basis that we offer Inner Engineering – engineering your interiority to take charge of life.

In the yogic system, we have always said the individual creation and larger creation are not different. If you know this piece of creation that is you, by inference, you can know every aspect of creation. This is what yoga is about. Unfortunately, most people think yoga is an exercise form. That kind of yoga is a rebound from the American coast. Essentially, yoga is about aligning your individual geometry to the cosmic geometry so that you have an access point to everything in this cosmos. You become competent to download the cosmos.

For example, if you’ve watched TV in the 1980s, when your favorite program was on, the TV would suddenly go bupp! Then you ran up to the terrace, arranged that bunch of aluminum tubes and when you got it in the right alignment, the world poured into your sitting room. Similarly with the human body, if you learn to hold it right, you can download the entire cosmos. Understanding this and finding an alignment between the individual and cosmic geometry is the science and technology of yoga.

A Designer Life

Coming down to our lives, people wear designer clothes and drive designer cars, but are you a designer life? A designer life means who you are happens the way you want yourself to be. Essentially, you must be able to design your destiny. If this has to happen, you have to take charge of the inner dimension of who you are.

The most fantastic engineer in the universe exists within. If you eat a piece of bread, in a couple of hours, it becomes a human being. With a piece of bread, you manufacture the most complex mechanism on the planet! So the most phenomenal engineer is within you. It is from this basis that we offer Inner Engineering – engineering your interiority to take charge of life. The very way we are born, the way we live, think, feel and experience our life, where we will get and how we will die – everything is determined by the individual. This is a designer life. This is the life of a yogi. This is the idea of design that emerged from this culture.

Design Your God!

This culture even offered you the freedom to design the kind of god you want. There is something called as Ishta Devata – you can make a god of your choice. You can worship a man, a woman, a cow, a tree – whatever you can relate to – and no one thinks it’s odd. This is taking design to its limit. Why do you think we have 33 million gods and goddesses? Because that was our population. Since then, we’ve unfortunately become Western-educated and a little shy.

It is my wish and my blessing that every one of you should design your own destiny. This is the nature of this culture, this is the nature of this nation. The people of India have this tremendous responsibility and privilege. India is capable of bringing a new paradigm of what it means to be successful in terms of creating human wellbeing. We have the necessary inner technologies and wisdom. We have to make this world a beautiful place, not by conquests, but by captivating and embracing the world like a garland.

Editor’s Note: “Bha-ra-ta: The Rhythm of a Nation” includes more of Sadhguru’s insights on Bharat, its past, present and future, and the profundity of its culture. The ebook is available on a “Pay As You Wish” basis. (Click “Claim for Free” if you want it gratis).

A thought does not take you anywhere – but it can set the course of your life.